Part1: Singapore Trip Day 1 - Transportation Guide To Singapore

Singapore is my second out of the country trip early last year.  This prosperous city-state is so well known because of many Filipinos working here, mostly in tourism and IT industry.  This became memorable for me because of the misadventures we had during planning and the trip itself.  Nonetheless, Singapore is worth visiting I'd love to come back.

What You Need To Know:

• Singapore is one of the 25 countries Filipinos (with Philippine passport) can visit without a visa.  The tourist visa is good for 30 days.

• Immigration officers in the Philippines are pretty strict to Filipinos going here.  A lot of Filipinos visit Singapore as a tourist but they never came back instead start working there.  Most often than not, they process the working permit in Singapore once they got the job.  I hope you already read my Hongkong series because I already stated the things you need to show to an immigration officer.  But just to refresh, make sure you show your:

               1.  Fully filled and signed departure / embarkation card
               2.  Philippine passport
               3.  Itinerary Flight Details - make sure that you have a flight going back to the Philippines
               4.  Hotel/Hostel booking
               5. Company ID - if you are employed it is best to show your company i.d. to ensure the
                   officer you will come back again.  Be confident.  Officers might ask a lot.
              6.  Government ID and/or other supporting documents for self-employed and students.

• Singapore is a multicultural country comprises of Singaporeans, Indians, Malays, and a home to blue collar workers coming from Philippines, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.  English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil are four official language in Singapore.  The influence of Chinese and Malay language is apparent in their informal English they called Singlish.

• Money in Singapore is in Singapore Dollars (SGD).  1 SGD = 34-35PHP as of writing.

Airport in Singapore

The main airport in Singapore is called Changi Airport and is one of the finest airports in Asia.  Sabi nga, airport palang ulam na.  Singapore also have a Budget Terminal in Singapore and that is where our airline dock during our visit.  There's a free bus ride going to Changi Airport, and from there, a very very convenient train (MRT) to the city.

Right now, Budget Terminal is closed for renovation so expect that you'll be flying to Changi Airport.  There are three terminals in Changi Airport: Terminal 1, Terminal 2, and Terminal 3.  But one need not to worry because there's an inter-terminal free transfer going from one terminal to another.  You can check the Changi Airport website for more info.

Free Inter Terminal Transfer Operating Hours
5:00AM - 2:30AM - SkyTrain
2:30AM - 5:00AM - Shuttle Bus

Our Trip

Supposedly our trip is set on April (last year), I already made arrangements on our accommodation but then my travel buddy aka boyfriend told me he won't be available that time and his only vacation is on March.  Still, we pursued the trip, dahil minsan lang magkabudget!

We took the earliest flight and arrived at Budget Terminal via Cebu Pacific between 9am-10am. The immigration went smoothly, but then as soon as we waited for our check in baggage, my gulay, our bags were missing!  Okay, calm down C.A., I told myself.  I looked around and found a lost baggage counter, I asked and reported our bags were missing.  He told us to please wait a little, but came few minutes, none of our bags came out.  That feeling when you want to argue but then these people were not the right person to make a fight haha.  They were kind to us.  What worst is that after he called/emailed someone from Cebu Pacific, they are not sure where our baggage, that we should try to wait for the next flight.  The lost baggage officer processed a report and told us to wait, and he paid us SGD50.  And then I learned that in Singapore, they give small amount to compensate the stress perhaps. 

It was 11:00AM and the next available flight during that day is around 1PM.  We went to the departure area, and waited.  2 hours?  We could wait.  We went back to the Budget Terminal's back office and waited again.  Unfortunately, our bags were not in that flight.  How I hate Cebu Pacific that day for not assisting us in a foreign country and for not assuring our bags on the next flight.  It's already 2pm and we're worried.  We decided took the airport's phone number and checked in our accommodation in Little India.  As soon as we arrived in our accommodation,  I then called the airport to check.  Our baggage is on the next flight arriving between 4-5pm.  Ang hassle lang.  We went back to the airport to get our baggage and brought it in the hostel around 6pm.  Sad to say, our first day is not good.  

Somebody told me, we should have ask Cebu Pacific to bring our baggage to the hostel, but then they didn't assist us.  I have to thank the Budget Terminal officers for assisting us on this one.   Ang haba na nobela na masyado, naiinis kasi ko!   I even sent a complaint after the trip but no one replied to it.  I still fly via Cebu Pacific, but every time, I always told the check in personnel to make sure my baggage will be there because I experienced a missing baggage.

Budget Terminal Departure Area

free shuttle bus from Budget Terminal to Changi Airport

stress pero smile pa din :D

Transportation in Singapore 

Commuter Bus

There are two main bus line in Singapore.  You can check out their website for the fare, schedule and route.

SBS Transit Bus Services

SMRT Buses Bus Services

TIP: When riding a bus make sure of the route.  We experienced that, a particular bus number didn't stop on the same location where we loaded the bus.

Taxi / Cab

Flagdown rates of taxi in Singapore are based on the car used.  Riding a taxi at night can be costly because of the additional 25% during peak hours and 50% during late night.  You can check wikipedia for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_of_Singapore

Train / MRT / LRT

The best thing about Singapore is the convenience of commuting via train from the airport.  We purchased  an EZ Reloadable Card, a stored value card which you can use in mrt or in public bus.  You can top up (reload) the card in any MRT terminals around the city.

EZ Reloadable Card Price if purchased in Changi Airport MRT Terminal and MRT Terminals:
12SGD = 7SGD stored value + 5SGD non-refundable cost of the purchased card

EZ Reloadable Card Price if purchased in 7/11 Outlets:
10SGD = 5SGD stored value + 5SGD non-refundable cost of the purchased card

Download a map of the MRT in your phone for ease of commuting. They have different train lines, and there's an interchange station which is very handy. 

We bought the EZ Reloadable Card here

If you're not familiar with Singapore, I think it's best to find a location which is near the train station for your convenience.

TIP:  Locate the places you want to visit, so you'll have an idea if it's near or far from your accommodation.

photo from www.exploremetro.com

Hop On Hop Off City Sight Seeing Tourist Bus

You can also avail a tour bus in Singapore.  The concept here is that, for one time payment, the bus will stop by at different tourist attractions where you can drop off or hop in any time of the day.

At 7pm it was quite raining that night.   We thought of going out and explore to at least enjoy the night. :)

MY SINGAPORE SERIES
Part1: Singapore Trip Day 1 - Transportation Guide To Singapore
Part2: Singapore Trip Day 1 / Day 2 - Suntec City, Makansutra Gluttons Bay, Little India, Orchard Road
Part3: Singapore Trip Day 2 - Resorts World Sentosa's Universal Studios Singapore
Part4: Singapore Trip Day 2 - SkyPark Observation Deck at Marina Bay Sands Singapore
Part5: Singapore Trip Day 3 - Exploring Bugis and Chinatown
Part6: Singapore Trip Day 3 / Day 4 - A Visit to Sentosa, Helix Bridge, Merlion Park Plus Some Foodtrip!
Singapore Travel Guide | 4 Days / 3 Nights Itinerary and Expenses